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W. CALVBR, METHOD OFAND MEANS FOR UTILIZING THE RAYS 0I' THB SUN.v 10.260,`

Patented July 4 Y2 sneaks-sheet 2 y (No Model.)

W. CALVBR. Y y METHQDOF AND MEANS PON UTILIZfING-THE NAYS 0F THE SUN. No. 260

PatentedJuly 4 N. PETERS. Pbowumagnpher, Wnhington. D.C.

- UNITED "Sin/unisv i PATENT OFFICE.

. To all whom it may concern:

WILLIAM OALVER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

METHODMOF AND MEAN'S'FOR UTILIZING THE RAYS OF THE SUN.

l SPECIFICATION forming partA of 'Letters Patent No. 260,657, dated July 4, 1882.

4 Application filed May' 18, 1882. (No model.)

Be it known that I, WILLIAM GALVER, a citizen of -the United States of America,"resid ing at Washington, in the District ot' Columbia, have invented a certain new and useful Method of and Means for Utilizing'the Rays of the Sun; and I do hereby'declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descrip! tion of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to' make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,"and to letters or figures of referencelnarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has reference to a certain method and means for reflecting, directing,- and concentrating` the rays of the sun and utilizing the same for heating or other purposes and as a source of power; and it consists in the method and-mechanism hereinafter Adescribed, and specically pointed out inthe claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective of means con` structed for and adapted to the purpose in View in accordance with my invent-ion. For convenience ot illustration the retlected rays at the right of this ligure are slightly concentrated. Fig. 2 is a front elevation ot' a portion of said means; and Figs. 3 and 4 are details in perspective of a reflector mounted for port-able or hand use and operation, and Fig. 5 a

. further detail.

Like letters of referenceindicate like parts in all the figures.

Arepresents a boiler somewhat similar to an ordinary steam-boiler, in that it may be provided with a tire-place, a, and smoke-stack a', in order that the usual means of producing steam therein-that is, by the combustion -of fuelmay be used in connection with the means hereinafter described, if desired, in which case VI introduce, construct, or locate within the boiler a tine, u2, which is located in such position as to receivefrom the fuel in the rebox the resultant gases of combustion and conduct them, when not otherwise inuenced, as hereinafter described, directly or indirectly to the smoke-stack a.

I prefer to construct the flue of hre-brick or other material adapted to resist a very'high degree of heat, and to so locate said flue that in aport-ion at least of its path through the .boiler it shallbe surrounded with the water from which steam is to be produced.

f At B, I have illustrated a steam engine, which is supplied with steam thronghthe'pipe B', and isadapted by means of the belt Bl to operate desired machinery, and by the belt'b to rotate the wormshaft b2, which meshes with the Worm-gear 113,0n the shaft ot' which is a belt-pulley, b4., which, by means of av belt, L5,

Aoperates-a pulley, L6, mounted on a car, C, the lower end of the shaft b" of pulley b being providedwith a friction wheel, 118, that bears against the rail D of a circular track, as shown.

Mounted upon the car O is a reflector, E, which is supported pvotally at c in uprights e', and one of the pivots ofthe reflector is provided -with a pulley, c?, which is connected by means of a belt, e3, to a pulley, c4, upon the upper end of the shaft b7, the belt e3 being turned by means of two pulleys, @5, supported ou the car or ou one of the uprights, as shown'iu Fig. 2, one of said pulleys only being shown.

The base A of the boiler is cut away to permit the unobstructed operation of belt b5 throughout the entire ext-ent ofthe movement of the car C upon the track D.

rIhe reflector E may be a single plain, or cori rugated, or concave, or convex, or anyother retlecting-surfaee-that is, it may be constructed of any suitable material with a reflectingsurface; or, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, it may be composed ot' numerous reflecting-surfaces, c6, each of which is adj ustably secured to bars E', secured, it may be pivotally, in a frame, c", which is pivotally supported in the upri as described.

Any Well-known means of adjustment may be employed; but I have illustrated in detail, Fig. 3, onei manner, which consists in providing each reflector with a projection at or upon the rear side, which is so jointed to a supporting rod 0r piece that it may be adjusted by a thumb-screw, e, to desired positions in a vertical direction, and by mea-ns of a similar screw and joint at el its position horizontally may be adjustably determined; and, further, when mounted upon a tripod, en, or other portable support, as shown in this figure, itV may be bodily rotated about the central attaching-bolt, 612,'either by hand or by suitable portable mechanism attached thereto.

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At F, Fig. 1, I have shown a standard which may be secured to the base ot the boiler or engine, or supported and carried by the car, as shown at C', or it may be set in or upon the ground and at a proper distance trom the retiector, and within the standard is a rod, f', adjnstably held by set-screwf at desired heights.

To the upper end of rod j" is adjustably secured a lens, G, which can be held in upright or inclined position, as indicated by dotted lines, by means of the thnmbvscrewfi.

At the end ot' the boiler I have shown a sector, H, pivotally attached to the boiler at h, and adapted to support a shield, H', which is constructed of glass, mica, or any other substance which serves to form a space, h, between itself andthe outer surface of the boiler, and which permits the passage therethrough of the heat-rays of the sun and prevents the escape of heat from the boiler. With this end in view the boiler may be coated or covered with glass or miea,as described with reference to the material ot' the shield.

The shield may be provided with means for adjustably supporting it over diti'erent portions of the boiler, as a pin, h3, shown; or it may be suitably connected to the operative parts described, to be automatically changed in position, as hereinafter described with reference to other parts.

At I is shown in dotted lines a second reiector, which may be used to receive the rays from the reflector E, and to direct them against the boiler, either with or without further concentration, by aI lens, G.

The joint el", Fig. 3, instead ot being at a right angle to the joints e9 and en, may be at any other angle than right, in order to permit ot' a diagonal adjustment of a reflector Without changing its horizontal or vertical plane of presentation-that is to say, a reticctor could be tilted or inclined, and yet remain in the same vertical plane. By thus supporting the reiiector every possible presentation can be accomplished, and the rays ot' light and heat reflected by several independent reflectors may be concentrated upon a desired point or surface, either in independent separate foci, or in afocus common to all the reflectors.

The operation of lnyinvention is as follows: The retlector E directs the rays of the sun against the boiler and heats the water to produce the steam which operates the engine B, and this (or, if desired, anindependent engine or motor may be used) operates the worm-gear, which is located at the center of the circle in which the reflector is moved, and through the operation ofthe mechanism described said rcector is automatically carried about the boiler in such time and with such a presentation or inclination as to constantly and directly receive the rays of the sun from sunrise to sunset. For this purpose the timing of the various gears and pulleys with relation to the revolutions of the engine-shaft is accomplished by a proper determination of their sizes relative to each other, which is a matter within the province ofthe mechanician, and requires no further specitic description herein.

It is readily seen that shafting and gearing may be substituted for the bclting and pulleys, and that the boiler' need not necessarily be located at the center of the circle in which the reflector moves, as a slight change in the adjustment thereof could be made, so as to direct or concentrate the rays at any other point than said center. Furthermore, the rays directed or concentrated bythe reflector may or may not be again concentrated by the lens, or they may or may not be directly reflected against the boiler, as a second or a third retlector may be used to direct and concentrate said retiected rays against the boiler.

It is intended that the car C shall be ample in size to carry several reflectors, it' desired. As previously stated, the boiler is constructed to be heated by means ot' the combustion ot' fuel, and also by means of theretlectors shown. The rays of the sun may be directed eitherinto the tire-box, or directed and concentrated in the fire-brick t'lue to highly heat the same, so that when fuel is used the unconsunied products ot' combustion are therein completely utilized for theproduclionotsteam; and hence the very large percentage of waste in coal or other fuel energy is largely reduced, it' notentirely overcome. The direction and concelltration of the rays may be accomplished separately or jointly, and upon one or more parts ot' the boiler or receiver, or upon the whole ol'it.

It will readily be seen that the cxtentof the movement of the reflector is substantially a half-circle, as with the sun in the east it stands at the end of the circularor curved track which is in the west. With the sun at the west its position is at the opposite end; and as to its inclination to and from a vertical line it approaches it nearest at sunrise and sunset, it being necessary at meridian, when substantially halt' the track llas been traversed by the car, to cross the belt ci, in order that the automatic tilting ot the reflector may be reversed in direction.

In using the terni vertical to qualify the position ot' the reiiector, the base of the car may be considered as a relative horizontal, but when the heat-receiver or boiler is much elcvated the relative horizontal line may or would be actually inclined.

In using the term circular7 with reference to the track D or the course traversed by the reiiector, it is intended to indicate either a curved line or an arc of a circle which may or may ynot equal or exceed a semicircle, as at the equator said movement or course would at times be theoretically exactly a semicircle in extent if not in direction, and at all places even a straight track can be used by adjusting the retlector on vertical pivots.

At points north and south of the equator with a curved track the course would exceed a semicircle.

Instead of a steam-boiler, I may use any rei XOO IIO

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ceiver for the reiiected or reflected 'and concentrated rays, and said receiver may serve the function to retainer to deliver the heat directly to practical uses without first converting it into power. s

By constructing a reljector of separatelyadjustable reflecting-surfaces the rays can be directed in such a manner that the effect at the field may be augmented to almost any degree, and thus practical results may be aecomplished. Y When a reflector is constructed of an integral surface the size required to produce practical results renders its cost exceedingly great, and when constructed of numerous plane xed surfaces avery large percentage of the effectiveness of the rays is lost by diffusion; but by my constructing a reflector of'. numerous separate disconnected individually and iw dependently adjustable surfaces theefect of each of said surfacesis augmented, reenforced, increased, and greatlyheightened by directing upon the same field the rays from each of' its companions,as shown in Fig. 5. The heated field of one reflector is adapted to be increasingly heated by the rays from a second similar simultaneously-actingreflector, and this without concentrating the reflected rays, and herein lies the peeuliarity of my method of utilizing the rays of the sun for all practical purposes whereinV heat is an element employed; and it is also fully applicable for the practical application of other rays ofthe sun than the heat-rays. The light-giving quality of the rays and those known as the actinic?.rays may be manipulated according to my method and by my means to produce practical results.

The use of a concentrator or lens, G, as herein shown and described, is not in the least s an essential feature of my method. It of itself servesits Well-known purpose of concentrating rays to a focus, while in my method and the means for its practice, as herein illustrated, there is absolutely'no concentration, and therefore no focus in the true sense of the term. There is no point in or at which the rays meet. The proof of this is seen in that if a lens, say, two inches in diameter be held in close proximity to my common field,77 say, ten by twelve inches in area, there will be dis closed just as many distinct images of reflectorsas there -are reflecting-surfaces employed, and the relative positions of the images will be the same as that of' the reflectors, and, furthermore, the field of' a reflector is in area, if anything, slightly in excess of that of the re- -iectorn By referring to Fig. 5the rays of' the Asun from a common source are reflected in separate portions in parallel lines (that is, each portion of said rays do not converge) upon a common field. One portion heats that field to a certain temperature, a second, separate, independent portion is reflected in parallel lines upon the same field, and it, being already heated to said certain temperature, 'is adapted t0 be increasingly heated by said second portion, and thus. a third, fourth, and so on up to thousands of separately and parallelly reflected portions, are piled on the common field, and excessive heat is produced, insomuch thatwrought-iron has been melted in the open air and shade.

By the use of concentrating-reflectors any simple non-concentrating or concentrating reilecto'r may be fully exposed to the direct rays of the sun at any point in its course, and the rays thus fully reflected may be directed to a desired point.V and concentrated there, while without the concentrating-reflector in such case the simple plane reflector would be necessarily inclined to such an extent as to present less than' its f'ull area to the sun. Hence the second reflection serves to save a large loss of the resultant effect.

I would observe that the heat-receiver may rotate with or Without the reflector.

Among the man v uses to which my invention may be applied that of smelting ores is readily apparent, in which case the smeltingfurnace would in reality be the heat-receiver, and the substitution thereof Vfor the boiler herein shown and described'as the heatreceiverv I should deem as within my invention.

Having described my invention and its operation, What' I claim as new, and desire to seeure by Letters Patent, is

1. In asolar heater, a reflector providedv with means whereby it may be automatically moved ina circular direction, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a -solar heater, a reliector provided with means whereby it may be automatically moved bodily in a circle and inclined, sub-v stantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of a reflector, a heat-receiver, and means for automatically moving the former about the latter, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination of a reflector adapted to automatically move in the arc of' a circle, and a heat-receiver located at the center of said circle, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination of a heat-receiver, acircular track about the same, and a reflector adapted to be moved upon the track, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination of' a reflector, a heatreceiver, a motor, and connecting mechanism adapted to automatically move the reflector about the heater, substantially as shown and described.

7. The combination of a reflector and concentrator, means whereby they are adapted to move in an arc of a circle, and a heat-receiver located at the center of' said circle, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8.* The combination of a reflector adapted to move in a circle, a steam-boiler located at the center of'said circle, and an engine adapted by suitable connecting-pipes to be operated by the steam produced in said boiler, substana tially as shown and described.

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9. A heat-receiver provided with a movable glass shield, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

10. The combination of a reflector, a heatreceiver, and a movable shield, substantially as shown and described.

11. The combination of a retlector, au adjustable concentrator, an adjustable shield, and a heat-receiver, substantially as shown and described.

12. The reflector consisting` ot' the frame cB and pivotally supported relector sections e, pivotally secured to pivotal bars E', substantially as shown and described.

13. The combination of the reflector E, car G, shaft 117, friction-wheel b, and track D, substantially as shown and described.

14. The combination of the reilector E, pnlleys e2, and belts @3b5 with the car C, shaft b', friction-wheel b", and track D, substantially as shown and described.

15. The combination of the car C, rellector E, and concentrator G, substantially as shown and described.

16. The combination of the boiler A, the cut-away base A', the centrally-located beltwheel b4, and the car C, substantially as shown and described.

17. The combination of the base A', cen trally-located belt-wheel b4, worm-gear b3, and worin b2, substantially as shown and described.

18. The combination of boiler A, pipe B',

engine B, belt b', worm b2, worm-gear b3, belt b5, and car C, substantially as shown and described.

19. The combination of the rellector E and boiler A, provided with a superheating-ue, as a2, substantially' as and for the purpose set forth.

20. A reflector consisting of independent reflecting-surfaces provided with means for universal adjustment, substantially as shown and described.

21. The method herein shown and described ot' utilizing,r the rays of the sun, which consists in solely reflecting separate portions of the same and directing each separate portion at or upon a single tield, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

22. The method ot' utilizing: the suns rays, which consists solely in reflecting separate portions of the same and directing each of said separatelyreilected portions to, at, or upon a single common lield, and concentrating them from said field to a common focus or field, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM GALVER.

A Witnesses:

E. B. STooKING, J. H. CooNEY. 

